Plenty of excitement has been building around Arthur Fils heading into this year’s edition of Roland Garros.
The 21-year-old Frenchman has been impressive since returning from a long-term back injury in February and appointing Novak Djokovic‘s former coach, Patrick Mouratoglou.
In 2026 so far, Fils has reached the final in Doha, the semifinals in Madrid and Miami, while also clinching his first title since 2024 at the Barcelona Open.
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He is in the form of his life currently, and with Carlos Alcaraz’s wrist injury ruling him out of Roland Garros, the young star will have a great chance to go far at his home Grand Slam in Paris.
Like many other home hopes, Fils is looking to end the drought of French winners in men’s singles at Roland Garros, which has lasted for 43 years.
Yannick Noah’s triumph at the 1983 French Open
The last Frenchman to hold the famous aloft at Roland Garros was Yannick Noah, who did so during the 1983 season.
Noah, who reached a career-high ranking of third in the world, won the first and only Grand Slam title of his career that year and delivered an incredible campaign in front of his home fans.
Seeded sixth at the tournament, he tore through the first four rounds without dropping a set.
Faced with third seed Ivan Lendl in the quarterfinal, Noah finally conceded a set, but came through the test against the Czech star in four to advance.
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His semifinal clash was an all-French affair versus Christophe Roger-Vasselin, whom he thrashed 6-3, 6-0, 6-0 to reach a maiden major final, where he was faced with Mats Wilander.
Noah had lost to Wilander twice earlier that season, but this time around, he overcame the Swede in straight sets to clinch the trophy and make history for his country.
He was the first Frenchman in the Open Era to win the tournament, and was the first overall since Marcel Bernard in 1946.
Noah was also the last man to win a singles Grand Slam with a wooden racket.
Frenchmen who have come close to winning Roland Garros since 1983
Only one Frenchman has reached a Roland Garros final since Yannick Noah’s triumph in 1983.
That man was Henri Leconte, who was beaten in the championship match by Wilander at the 1988 edition of the competition.
Outside of Leconte, there have been a number of French semifinalists at Roland Garros, including Jo-Wilfried Tsonga, who made the final four in 2013 and 2015.
Gael Monfils, who is set to retire at the end of the 2026 season, also reached the semifinals in 2008.
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